An injured woman tramper was winched out of dense bush near Upper Hutt today and airlifted to Wellington Hospital.
About 4:30pm the Wellington-based Westpac rescue helicopter, with two Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics on board, was sent to an area between Puffer Saddle and Smith Creek, just north of Kiwi Ranch, Kaitoki, where a 55-year-old Wellington woman had reportedly fallen while crossing a stream and suffered an ankle injury.
There was no suitable landing area, and a paramedic was winched down to the woman, who was stabilised and then winched into the helicopter and taken to Wellington Hospital.
"The party of approximately six trampers had done a particularly good job placing people at appropriate places on the track to direct the helicopter," said helicopter crewman Colin Larsen.
"One of the party had tramped approximately 30 minutes to gain cellphone coverage. The gps co-ordinates and other information passed to Ambulance communications made finding the injured tramper much easier that it would otherwise have been."
The woman was being assessed and treated in the hospital's emergency department.
NZPA